Being a High School Tennis Instructor is a lot more than just helping people hit a great looking forehand shot or perfecting their service motion. As a matter of fact, I'd say when speaking of the mechanics of the Game, many of the Student bring serious game to the table before day one begins. You know kids aren't dumb like we were when I was in High School. I guess I shouldn't say "dumb" but unaware of opportunities was certainly one of our traits compared to HS Students these days. It's really not that unbelievable given the Information age works very efficiently.

MTV - The Net - Word of Mouth are just three huge forms of information available to each & all who want to make use of what's available out in the World. So when you're my age interacting with a bunch of Students, you would do yourself well by not assuming you are dealing with a bunch of idiots. Granted there are many things Teens aren't familiar with as yet but because our Teens are growing up in a much more violent World than we could have ever imagined, they are being forced to get it together much faster than we had to.

So as a Coach, you find yourself talking alot about College, how they are going to get there and what they are going to do once they are there. The School District I work in has more advantages than most. I'd estimate that approx. 70% of the Students we teach, have clear options for College. But for the ones that don't and want to go to College, how are they going to get there?

Most would like a Tennis Scholarship if possible and I tell them this is not beyond their possibility if they are willing to put in the work. If you are serious about going to College on a Sports Scholarship or have Students that you feel may qualify, the time to get started is when they are in their Freshman Year.

Yes, you read it correctly, Freshman Year NOT Senior Year. By that time, it's too late unless you have Andre & Steffi's kid you're working with. So how can a High School Tennis Coach help a Student get a Scholarship? You have to put in some work but it starts with contact the NCSA and following up on that several times until they acknowledge you.

NCSA stands for National Collegiate Scouting Association. You must identify the Student or Students you feel have something to bring to the table and get them evaluated. The process is difficult but very rewarding. I don't have the address at my fingertips right now but you can Google however I do have their phone number which is (866) 579-6272

To Be Cont'd
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05-07-2009, 06:02 PM

aliciasace

Oooh yeh, Im planning playing pro for a while - coupla years and if that doesnt work I'll jusut go get a scholarship at uni

05-07-2009, 10:10 PM

ty17383

im a long way off if u play #1 singles for a good team, as i hope to do in a few years. is there a good chance u can get a scholorship?

05-09-2009, 07:49 PM

Coach

Your Coach or Tennis Dept Manager must first identify you as one having potential. Then they must initiate the contact between them and the Scouting Association. The process actually works and now more than ever because when you consider the late 80s & 90s when Americans pretty much ruled the Tennis World in both individual competition and team competition, there was a sort of arrogance around being an American Player. We felt we had the best Players and there wasn't a sense of urgency to look for the next group of promising Players, although there should have been.

The USTA should have done many things back then that might have made a huge difference in where we are today. I spent some time in Mexico during the late 80s and immediately took notice that you just couldn't find a hard court anywhere.
They had Clay Courts all over the place and I've come to learn that Clay is the surface of choice for most Latin Countries. This is probably why they Spanish Players are some dominate on Clay. I see no reason why Americans have to wait until Hardcourt Season before they are able to step up.

* If you think you have what it takes to get a scholarship based upon your athletic abilities, getting a Tennis Scholarship is a great way to further your education and work your options towards professional tennis?